The Heights of Halifax (1999) for tuba quartet

To hear and see extracts from this work, and to buy the music, Go Here

Duration: c.3 minutes

Commissioned by spnm

New Adventures in Composition was a major initiative by the Society for the Promotion of New Music during 1999. From a Halifax base, Ian McQueen and the tuba quartet Tubalaté worked with young composers from six schools and colleges in the North of England to create new compositions for the medium.

McQueen wrote two pieces for the opening session, held in the Calderdale Industrial Museum at the Piece Hall in Halifax, where he took his musical cue from the mysterious groans and wheezes of the enormous industrial leviathans of yesteryear on show in the displays to create this piece.

The work has since been taken round the world by Tubalaté and been received with great enthusiasm. It is at present the featured work for sale at the Introduction to this site.